US Department of Justice Antitrust Division

Two Kentucky Real Estate Professionals Indicted for Rigging Farmland Auction* A federal grand jury in the Western District of Kentucky returned an indictment charging two Kentucky real estate professionals with conspiring to rig bids at an estate auction for farmland and timber rights. (...)

Broiler Chicken Producer Indicted for Price Fixing and Bid Rigging* A federal grand jury in Denver, Colorado, returned an indictment charging Norman W. Fries Inc., dba Claxton Poultry Farms (Claxton), headquartered in Claxton, Georgia, with participating in a nationwide conspiracy to fix (...)

Second Individual Charged with Fixing Wages for Health Care Workers and Obstructing FTC Investigation* A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas returned a superseding indictment charging two Texas men with conspiring to fix prices by lowering rates paid to certain health care (...)

Bidder Pleads Guilty to Riggings Bids at Online Auctions for Surplus Government Equipment* A Missouri man pleaded guilty today to rigging online bids submitted to the General Services Administration (GSA). According to court documents, Alan Gaines pleaded guilty to the one-count indictment (...)

Justice Department Requires Republic Services to Divest Assets to Proceed with Santek Acquisition* Divestiture Will Preserve Competition in Markets for Small Container Commercial Waste Collection and Municipal Solid Waste Disposal in Six Local Markets in Five States The Department of Justice (...)

Health Care Staffing Company and Executive Indicted for Colluding to Suppress Wages of School Nurses* Alleged allocation and wage-fixing scheme targeted nurses staffed at the Clark County School District who were serving medically fragile students. A federal grand jury in Las Vegas, Nevada, (...)

Justice Department Resolves Antitrust Case Against Leading Central Pennsylvania Health Care Providers* Settlement Protects Hospital Competition in this Region The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement with Geisinger Health (Geisinger) and Evangelical Community (...)

One of the Nation’s Largest Chicken Producers Pleads Guilty to Price Fixing and is Sentenced to a $107 Million Criminal Fine First Corporation Pleads Guilty in Ongoing Criminal Antitrust Investigation into the Broiler Chicken Industry Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (Pilgrim’s), a major broiler (...)

Foreign-Language Training Companies Admit to Participating in Conspiracy to Defraud the United States* Two providers of foreign-language services, Comprehensive Language Center Inc. (CLCI), based in the Washington, D.C., area, and Berlitz Languages Inc. (Berlitz), based in New Jersey, were (...)

Visa and Plaid Abandon Merger After Antitrust Division’s Suit to Block* Decision to Terminate Deal Preserves Competition The Department of Justice announced today that Visa Inc. and Plaid Inc. have abandoned their planned $5.3 billion merger. The department filed a civil antitrust lawsuit on (...)

Health Care Company Indicted for Labor Market Collusion* A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment charging Surgical Care Affiliates LLC and its related entity (collectively SCA), which own and operate outpatient medical care centers across the country, for agreeing with competitors (...)

Ready-Mix Concrete Company Admits to Fixing Prices and Rigging Bids in Violation of Antitrust Laws* Argos USA LLC, a producer and seller of ready-mix concrete headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, was charged with participating in a conspiracy to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate markets for (...)

Three Additional States Ask Court To Join Justice Department Antitrust Suit Against Google* Today, the Attorneys General of Michigan and Wisconsin filed for permission to join the antitrust lawsuit filed by the United States and eleven other state Attorneys General against monopolist Google. (...)

Justice Department Requires Divestiture of Tufts Health Freedom Plan in Order for Harvard Pilgrim and Health Plan Holdings to Proceed With Merger* Divestiture Will Preserve Competition for Commercial Health Insurance in New Hampshire The Department of Justice announced today that it would (...)

Former Owner of Health Care Staffing Company Indicted for Wage Fixing* Antitrust Division Remains Committed to Prosecuting Collusion in Labor Markets A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Neeraj Jindal, the former owner of a therapist staffing company, for participating in a (...)

Justice Department Requires Divestiture of Credit Karma Tax for Intuit to Proceed with Acquisition of Credit Karma* Divestiture Will Preserve Competition for Digital Do-It-Yourself Tax Preparation Products The Department of Justice announced today that it is requiring Intuit Inc. and Credit (...)

Justice Department Files Antitrust Case and Simultaneous Settlement Requiring National Association of Realtors® To Repeal and Modify Certain Anticompetitive Rules* Settlement Will Increase Competition to the Benefit of American Homeowners and Homebuyers and Allow for Innovation in Brokerage (...)

Justice Department Signs Antitrust Memorandum of Understanding with Korean Prosecution Service* Yesterday, the Department of Justice signed an antitrust Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Korean Prosecution Service (KPS). The MOU is designed to promote increased cooperation and (...)

President of Commercial Flooring Company Pleads Guilty to Rigging Bids in Violation of Federal Antitrust Laws* Delmar E. Church Jr., the president and one of the principal owners of a Chicago-area commercial flooring company, pleaded guilty for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids and fix (...)

Justice Department Issues Guidance On The Use Of Arbitration And Launches Small Business Help Center* The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice announced the publication of two new resources on its website today. First, the division issued updated and supplemental guidance on the (...)

Justice Department Sues to Block Visa’s Proposed Acquisition of Plaid* Acquisition Would Eliminate Nascent Competitor Plaid and Prevent Disruption of Visa’s Monopoly in Online Debit Today, the Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to stop Visa Inc.’s $5.3 billion acquisition of (...)

Justice Department Files Enforcement Action Against Bain & Company As Part of Its Investigation Into Visa Inc’s Proposed Acquisition of Plaid Inc* Petition against Third Party Seeks to Enforce Compliance with the Department’s Civil Investigative Demand Today, the Department of Justice filed (...)

Justice Department Requires Waste Management To Divest Assets In Order To Proceed With Advanced Disposal Services Acquisition* Divestiture Will Preserve Competition in Markets for Small Container Commercial Waste Collection and Municipal Solid Waste Disposal in Over 50 Local Markets in 10 (...)

Justice Department Requires Divestiture In Order For Liberty Latin America To Acquire AT&T’s Telecommunications Operations In Puerto Rico And The U.S. Virgin Islands* Divestiture Will Preserve Competition for Fiber-Based Telecommunications Services for Enterprise Customers in Puerto Rico (...)

Engineering Firm And Its Former Executive Indicted On Antitrust And Fraud Charges* North Carolina Department of Transportation Targeted in Decade-Long Scheme A federal grand jury in Raleigh, North Carolina returned an indictment charging Contech Engineered Solutions LLC and Brent Brewbaker, a (...)

Justice Department Sues Monopolist Google For Violating Antitrust Laws* Department Files Complaint Against Google to Restore Competition in Search and Search Advertising Markets Today, the Department of Justice — along with eleven state Attorneys General — filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the (...)

Six Additional Individuals Indicted On Antitrust Charges In Ongoing Broiler Chicken Investigation* A federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court in Denver, Colorado, returned a superseding indictment charging six additional defendants for their roles in a previously indicted conspiracy to (...)

Department Of Justice Applauds President Trump’s Authorization Of The Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement And Reform Permanent Extension Act* On October 1, President Donald J. Trump signed into law a continuing resolution that contains the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform (...)

Justice Department Issues Favorable Business Review Letter To ISDA For Proposed Amendments To Address Interest Rate Benchmarks* The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division announced today that it has completed its review of the proposal by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (...)

Former Cancer Center President Indicted For Participation In Long-Running Antitrust Conspiracy* A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Dr. William Harwin, founder and former President of Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute LLC (FCS), for conspiring to allocate (...)

Antitrust Division Supports Modernizing Merger Filing Exemptions For Certain Investments* The Time Has Come to Update the Merger Filing Rules On Monday, September 21, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim concurred in the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Federal Register publication of a (...)

Justice Department Requires Divestiture In Order For Anheuser-Busch To Acquire Craft Brew Alliance* Divestiture Will Preserve Competition in the Beer Industry in the State of Hawaii The Department of Justice announced today that it is requiring Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (ABI), its (...)

Former Foreign Exchange Trader Sentenced To Prison For Price Fixing And Bid Rigging* Akshay Aiyer, a former currency trader at a major multinational bank, was sentenced to serve eight months in jail and ordered to pay a $150,000 criminal fine for his participation in an antitrust conspiracy to (...)

Justice Department Updates 2015 Business Review Letter To The Institute Of Electrical And Electronics Engineers* The Justice Department today issued a supplement to its Feb. 2, 2015 Business Review Letter from the Antitrust Division to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, (...)

Antitrust Division Announces Updates To Civil Investigative Demand Forms And Deposition Process* Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division announced today that the Antitrust Division has implemented two uniform updates to its Civil Investigative (...)

Justice Department Issues Modernized Merger Remedies Manual* Merger Remedies Manual Reaffirms Antitrust Division’s Commitment to Effective Structural Relief and Reflects Renewed Focus on Enforcing Consent Decree Obligations The Department of Justice issued today the Merger Remedies Manual, (...)

Ready-Mix Concrete Company And Individuals Indicted For Fixing Prices And Rigging Bids In Violation Of Antitrust Laws* A federal grand jury returned an indictment against one company and four individuals for their roles in a long-running conspiracy to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate markets (...)

Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim Signs Antitrust Cooperation Framework With Australia, Canada, New Zealand, And United Kingdom* Multilateral Mutual Assistance and Cooperation Framework aims to boost international cooperation efforts Today, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim (...)

Antitrust Division Seeks Public Comments On Updating Bank Merger Review Analysis* The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division announced today that it is seeking public comments into whether the division should revise the 1995 Bank Merger Competitive Review guidelines (“Banking Guidelines”) to (...)

Commercial Flooring Contractor Agrees To Plead Guilty To Bid Rigging* Vortex Commercial Flooring Inc., a Chicago-area commercial flooring contractor, has been charged for its role in a long-running antitrust conspiracy to rig bids and fix prices for commercial flooring services and products (...)

Seventh Generic Drug Manufacturer Is Charged In Ongoing Criminal Antitrust Investigation* Consumers Were Allegedly Overcharged at Least $350 Million Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. (Teva) has been charged with conspiring to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate customers for generic drugs, the (...)

Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim Announces Re-Organization of the Antitrust Division’s Civil Enforcement Program* Changes Will Allow for More Vigilant Enforcement, Deeper Expertise in Technology Trends The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division announced today that it is creating (...)

Justice Department Brings Enforcement Action Against Centurylink* In Significant Action, CenturyLink Agrees to Extend Term, Appoint Independent Monitor, and Reimburse Taxpayers for the Costs and Fees of the Violations The Department of Justice announced today that CenturyLink, Inc. has agreed (...)

Federal Court Terminates Paramount Consent Decrees* A federal court in the Southern District of New York today terminated the Paramount Consent Decrees, which for over seventy years have regulated how certain movie studios distribute films to movie theatres. The review and termination of these (...)

Justice Department Sues To Block Geisinger Health’s Transaction With Evangelical Community Hospital* Transaction Reduces Hospital Competition in Central Pennsylvania The U.S. Department of Justice sued today to block Geisinger Health’s partial acquisition of its close rival, Evangelical (...)

Statement of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division on the Closing of Its Investigation of London Stock Exchange Group and Refinitiv* Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice issued the following statement today in connection (...)

Department Of Justice Issues Business Review Letter To Monoclonal Antibody Manufacturers To Expedite And Increase The Production Of Covid-19 Mab Treatments* The United States Department of Justice announced today that it will not challenge proposed efforts by Eli Lilly and Company, AbCellera (...)

Sixth Pharmaceutical Company Charged In Ongoing Criminal Antitrust Investigation* Fifth Company to Admit It Fixed Prices of Generic Drugs Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. (Taro U.S.A.) has been charged for conspiring to fix prices, allocate customers, and rig bids for generic drugs, the (...)

Antitrust Division Applauds New International Leniency Guidelines* New guidelines will increase effectiveness of international cartel enforcement through better cooperation The Antitrust Division helped lead the International Competition Network (ICN) initiative on cross-border leniency (...)

Louisiana Company Charged With Conspiracy To Defraud The Government And Violate The Procurement Integrity Act* United States Attorney Peter G. Strasser and Makan Delrahim, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, announced that CAJAN WELDING & (...)

Justice Department Congratulates T-Mobile And Dish For Closing The Boost Divestiture* T-Mobile US Inc. (T-Mobile) and Dish Network Corporation (Dish) announced today that they closed T-Mobile’s divestiture of Boost Network (Boost) to Dish. Boost was legacy Sprint Corporation’s prepaid wireless (...)

Department of Justice And Federal Trade Commission Issue New Vertical Merger Guidelines* 2020 Guidelines More Accurately Represent Agencies’ Merger Review Process The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission issued today new Vertical Merger Guidelines that outline how the federal (...)

Fifth Pharmaceutical Company Charged In Ongoing Criminal Antitrust Investigation* Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA was charged for conspiring to fix prices for generic drugs, the Department of Justice announced today. The charge, filed today in the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, (...)

Department of Justice Applauds Congressional Passage Of Reauthorization Of The Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement And Reform Act* On June 25, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed identical bills, H.R. 7036 and S. 3377, to repeal the sunset provision of the Antitrust Criminal (...)

Justice Department’s Antitrust Division And The Securities And Exchange Commission Sign Historic Memorandum Of Understanding* The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the Securities and Exchange Commission have signed an interagency Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) to foster (...)

Former Bumble Bee CEO Sentenced To Prison For Fixing Prices Of Canned Tuna* Christopher Lischewski, former Chief Executive Officer and President of Bumble Bee Foods LLC, was sentenced to serve 40 months in jail and pay a $100,000 criminal fine for his leadership role in a three-year antitrust (...)

Senior Executives at Major Chicken Producers Indicted on Antitrust Charges* First Charges Filed in Ongoing Investigation into Fixing Prices of Broiler Chickens A federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court in Denver, Colorado, returned an indictment against four executives for their role in (...)

Department of Justice Supports National Pork Producers Council’s Ability to Combat Meat Shortage* The Department of Justice (Department) issued a letter to today to the National Pork Producers Council, the nation’s leading association of hog farmers, to address its proposed responses to (...)

Justice Department Requires Divestiture Following Historic Arbitration Win* Divestiture Will Preserve Competition for Aluminum Automotive Body Sheet in North America The Department of Justice announced today that it has filed a proposed final judgment with the U.S. District Court for the (...)

Generic Pharmaceutical Company Admits to Fixing Price of Widely Used Cholesterol Medication* Apotex Corp. Agrees to Pay a $24.1 Million Criminal Penalty Apotex Corp., a generic pharmaceutical company headquartered in Florida, was charged with fixing the price of the generic drug pravastatin, (...)

Cengage and McGraw-Hill Terminate Merger Agreement in Response to Antitrust Concerns* Cengage Learning Holdings II Inc. and McGraw-Hill Education Inc. mutually agreed to abandon their plans to merge after the Department of Justice informed the companies it had serious concerns that the (...)

Justice Department Requires Divestitures as Dean Foods Sells Fluid Milk Processing Plants to DFA out of Bankruptcy* Department Also Closes Investigation into Acquisition of Other Dean Plants by Prairie Farms The Department of Justice announced today the conclusion of its investigation into (...)

Statement from Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim on Sabre and Farelogix Decision to Abandon Merger* Sabre Corporation and Farelogix, Inc. announced today the termination of their merger agreement. The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit on Aug. 20, 2019, to block (...)

Leading Cancer Treatment Center Admits to Antitrust Crime and Agrees to Pay $100 Million Criminal Penalty* Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute LLC (FCS), an oncology group headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, was charged with conspiring to allocate medical and radiation (...)

Justice Department Issues Business Review Letter to AmerisourceBergen Supporting Distribution of Critical Medicines Under Expedited Procedure for COVID-19 Pandemic Response* The Department of Justice announced today that it will not challenge collaborative efforts of AmerisourceBergen (...)

Justice Department Issues Business Review Letter to the Association of Independent Commercial Producers* The Department of Justice announced today that it will not challenge a proposal by the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) to operate an online platform for advertisers (...)

DOJ Agrees to Civil Settlement with Additional Firm Involved in Bid Rigging and Fraud Targeting Defense Department Fuel Supply Contracts for U.S. Military Bases in South Korea* South Korea-based company Jier Shin Korea Co. Ltd., and its president, Sang Joo Lee, have agreed to pay $2 million to (...)

Department of Justice Issues Business Review Letter to Medical Supplies Distributors Supporting Project Airbridge Under Expedited Procedure for COVID-19 Pandemic Response* The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that it will not challenge collaborative efforts of McKesson Corporation, (...)

Court Enters Final Judgment in T-Mobile/Sprint Transaction: Order Allows Divestitures to Proceed* Today, a federal district court in Washington, D.C., concluded that the Antitrust Division’s resolution of its challenge to the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint was in the public interest and (...)

Justice Department Requires Divestitures in Merger Between UTC and Raytheon to Address Vertical and Horizontal Antitrust Concerns* Divestitures Will Preserve Competition in the United States for Military Airborne Radios, Military GPS Systems, and Reconnaissance Satellite Components The (...)

Justice Department Announces Antitrust Civil Process Changes for Pendency of COVID-19 Event* Process Changes Will Ensure that the Department Can Carry Out Its Enforcement Mission While Protecting the Health and Safety of Its Employees and the American Public The Department of Justice (...)

Justice Department Cautions Business Community Against Violating Antitrust Laws in the Manufacturing, Distribution, and Sale of Public Health Products* The Department of Justice today announced its intention to hold accountable anyone who violates the antitrust laws of the United States in (...)

Two Commercial Flooring Executives Plead Guilty to Rigging Bids in Violation of Federal Antitrust Laws* Two commercial flooring executives, Robert A. Patrey Jr. and Kenneth R. Smith, pleaded guilty for their role in an antitrust conspiracy to rig bids and fix prices for commercial flooring (...)

Justice Department Wins Historic Arbitration of a Merger Dispute* Novelis Inc. Must Divest Assets to Consummate Transaction with Aleris Corporation The Department of Justice prevailed in a first-of-a-kind arbitration, which will resolve a civil antitrust lawsuit challenging Novelis’s proposed (...)

Extradited Former Automotive Parts Executive Pleads Guilty to Antitrust Charge* Fugitive for Nearly Five Years, Extradited to the United States and Pleads Guilty to Antitrust Conspiracy Eun Soo Kim, a former key accounts manager for Continental Automotive Korea Ltd. and a Korean national, was (...)

Major Generic Pharmaceutical Company Admits to Antitrust Crimes: Sandoz Inc. Agrees to Pay a $195 Million Criminal Penalty, the Largest for a Domestic Antitrust Case* Sandoz Inc., a generic pharmaceutical company headquartered in New Jersey, was charged for conspiring to allocate customers, (...)